Krazy Koreans and Karaoke: Adventures at Atlanta’s Do Re Mi Noraebang

Standard tools for a night of Korean karaoke: laminated song book, obnoxious tambourine, crazy remote with too many buttons, and a mic with a disposable covering

Back in my UGA college years when I could afford such luxuries as spontaneity, my friends and I would frequently pile into a car on a random weekday night and drive 40 minutes on 316 from Athens to Atlanta just to karaoke.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t sing or carry a tune. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t like music (what are you, a robot?). As long as you are in good company, karaoke can mean good times for all.

New to Korean karaoke? It’s simple – you get a private room for your group (yup, its that literal), order lots of drinks and food, pick songs from a giant song book, and let the disco lights inspire you. Most Korean karaoke bars will have an extensive list of Korean music, impressive amount of American hits, and adequate sampling of international fare (Chinese, Russian, etc).

On a recent night out on the (Korea) town, we opted to go to the ever popular Do Re Mi in Duluth.

Located in the Hmart plaza off Pleasant Hill, it is a go-to favorite for many. Hours of operation start at 3pm until 2am-ish. Typically, we book for a 2 hour slot and rates are $20/hour. (However, if you have a large party, there are usually beverage minimums that you have to fulfill.)

If you go before 8pm like us ahjummas, you too can score a giant room for your modest party of 5

If possible, practice some songs beforehand. As ridiculous as it sounds, singing along to a song in your car is vastly different from singing by yourself in a karaoke room without the help of Kanye.

Ask your room attendant to give you a brief tutorial on how to use the remote if it’s your first time. You can select songs from different countries, increase tempos, decrease pitches, and queue an energetic applause sound bite to name a few features.

Don’t hog the mic. There’s a whole bunch of other people who are there to sing so don’t enter 5 songs in a row into the machine. (Unless you really are a weirdo and are karaoking by yourself.)

If any of your companions look bored or choruses get too repetitive, do everyone a favor and skip the interlude or skip entirely to the next song. We all have some levels of ADHD after all. No one wants to hear all 5 minutes and 55 seconds of “Bohemian Rhapsody” unless it is sung by Freddie Mercury himself.

Don’t cry while singing ballads. Just don’t. Lionel Richie brings out all kinds of emotions for me too, but it’s better kept to myself.

Don’t judge. I know only Adele can hit those notes, but please don’t judge me for trying.

Don’t be shy. Who cares if you can’t actually sing? You work that mic and you work it well. Thankfully many of the karaoke melodies have backup singers left on the track to help you sing.

Rock the tambourine, move around, and dance! You have to burn off all the calories from the alcohol somehow after all.

Watch the timer (usually on the main tv screen or on the karaoke machine) so you know when to start winding it down.

Ignore bad grammar and cheesy videos. They are rampant.

Partner up and sing together.

Have fun!! See old school karaoke example below. So money.

Not having been to a karaoke bar in over 4 years, this spontaneous night out was rejuvenating and worth staying up late for. And although I lost my voice and shamed Bon Jovi with my rendition of “Always,” I happily walked to my cheerio littered Leaf in a pop-induced haze and basked in the giddy afterglow of a night of Korean karaoke.